This time, coming back to Central, Kuroha never planned to stay long.
According to the itinerary he and Nase Fumino had mapped out in detail, they would be heading to Ireland in mid-August.
They'd use the month before the big race to help Oguri Cap fully acclimate to the track and climate there.
So after letting everyone—including himself—cut loose in Tokyo for a few days and savor the last aftertaste of vacation…
They once again boarded the private car bound for the airport.
This time, Kuroha wasn't bringing many people—just four.
First, of course, was the main force of this expedition: Oguri Cap, along with Oguri Cap's logistics lead and little tagalong, Berno Light.
Then there was the "assistant" Kuroha had roped in—Nase Fumino—and her assigned Uma Musume, Super Creek.
The five of them waved goodbye to their Tracen friends, then boarded a flight to Europe.
…
Narita International Airport, first class.
While the plane still hadn't taken off and the cabin was relatively quiet, Kuroha adjusted into a comfortable position, pulled out his phone, and opened a pinned group chat.
[Group Chat for Beating Up Kuroha the Jerk (3 people)]
With a few taps, Kuroha sent an image.
[My Lil' Horse: Kuroha]: PlaneTicket.jpg
[My Lil' Horse]: @Urban Sea @Sea The Stars16 I'm coming to play with you guys.
The chat went quiet for a few seconds.
Urban Sea was probably busy with something and didn't reply right away.
Instead, Sea The Stars—the usually quiet little one—was the most responsive.
[Sea The Stars]: [Location shared] Ireland · County Kildare…
[Sea The Stars]: Kuroha-nii, I'm living here right now.
No extra chatter. Just a pin drop.
That was exactly the style of a future world-class Uma Musume king.
[My Lil' Horse]: Got it. Once I'm settled over there, I'll come find my little Star right away.
[My Lil' Horse]: Cute.jpg
[Sea The Stars]: CatNod.jpg
Seeing the adorable sticker Sea The Stars sent, Kuroha smiled, genuinely at ease.
This "big brother" feeling was pretty nice…
The team did have Rice Shower too, but that kid was so shy and introverted that, for now, their relationship still felt more like ordinary teacher and student.
So she wasn't clingy—at least not yet.
Out of the three pre-debut fillies, Mihono Bourbon—the cyber-pony—was the one who'd gotten unusually close to him.
But Sea The Stars, that future world-class Uma Musume, showed him trust and affection without holding anything back.
It gave him that long-lost, simple happiness of being an older brother again.
"Buzz."
Just as Kuroha was about to close the screen, his phone suddenly vibrated.
The tsundere who'd been lurking finally surfaced.
[Urban Sea]: ??????
[Urban Sea]: Star! Don't just hand our address to this big jerk!!
Even through the screen, Kuroha could picture Urban Sea bristling like an angry cat.
And yet, after those two "protest" messages, she went quiet for a moment.
Then three lines of green text popped up, one after another:
[Urban Sea]: Are you really coming to find us?
Kuroha couldn't help chuckling.
Such an honest-until-it-matters kind of girl.
He lifted his phone, his long fingers flying across the screen, and sent three final messages.
[My Lil' Horse]: Yeah. Wait for me.
Right after that, the cabin crew announced that electronic devices needed to be turned off.
Kuroha set his phone to airplane mode and looked out the window.
Not long after, the plane rumbled as it climbed, piercing through the clouds.
Layered cloudbanks rolled beneath the wings like an ocean, carrying this five-person squad toward faraway Ireland.
…
Europe, Ireland.
County Kildare—inside Kuroha's private training estate.
In the spacious, brightly lit private gym, the steady clatter of machines rose and fell in overlapping waves.
A beautiful Uma Musume with long brown hair sat on a bench, a white towel draped over her head.
Her face glistened with sweat—she'd clearly just finished a high-intensity strength set.
She wore professional compression training gear.
The fabric hugged her body perfectly, tracing the youthful, explosive lines of someone who'd only just entered True Blooming.
"…He's coming…?"
Urban Sea held her phone in both hands, staring at the short, forceful "Wait for me."
Her lips kept trying to curl upward, and she kept trying to press them down, leaving her expression both awkward and ridiculously cute.
"Urban Sea?"
Suddenly, a slightly stern voice sounded by her ear.
Urban Sea jolted, nearly flinging her phone.
Standing beside her was her trainer—and one of the women who owned this estate—Li Si.
This middle-aged woman from Tōkō (東煌) was well-maintained, but her brows carried a crisp, commanding competence that didn't need anger to feel intimidating.
"What are you staring at so hard?" Li Si lifted a brow, eyeing her suspiciously.
"Huh? Ah! N-no, nothing!"
Urban Sea snapped back to herself, fumbling as she locked the screen and hid the phone behind her back, waving her hands in flustered denial.
"I-I was just checking the news! Nothing special!"
Li Si sighed, giving her a helpless look.
Still a kid. Every thought written all over her face.
Probably either eyeing some new outfit again—or scheming how to slack off.
"Alright. Rest for now. Strength training ends here for today."
Li Si handed her a bottle of water, then reminded her, "You only entered True Blooming a month ago. Your body's still developing. Don't overload yourself too hard, or you'll leave problems behind."
"Okay, Si-onee-san."
Urban Sea nodded obediently and took big gulps of water.
When it came to training, she followed Li Si's words almost without question.
She knew her limits.
She didn't understand training theory at all—sure, back in Tōkō, she'd heard that "jerk" talk about plenty of things, but she'd barely remembered any of it.
So in this area, she had the sense not to pretend she was smarter than she was.
"Oh, right."
Li Si seemed to remember something and quickly scrolled through her contacts.
"Lately, you haven't been bothering your little sister again, right? Sea The Stars isn't old enough yet. Stop dragging her into random training just because you feel like it."
Urban Sea froze, then shook her head so hard she looked like a bobblehead.
"No, no! I've been super good these past few days! I absolutely didn't make Star run with me!"
"Good."
Li Si nodded. She was about to say something about tomorrow's training plan when—
Bzz—
The phone in her pocket vibrated with a notification.
Li Si paused and casually checked the screen.
"Hm? Another one?"
She frowned slightly and shook her head, as if she was already used to last-minute changes like this, then started to put the phone away.
"What is it?" Urban Sea leaned in curiously, her long lashes fluttering.
Li Si glanced at her and explained offhandedly, "Nothing much. The final entry list for next month's Irish Champion Stakes just updated."
"A foreign trainer submitted an application last-minute, bringing a Uma Musume to compete."
"G1…"
Urban Sea pouted, eyes full of envy.
"I wonder when I'll get to run one…"
"Slow down. What's the rush?"
Li Si laughed softly and ruffled her hair.
"You don't even debut officially until next year. If you want G1s, you'll need a good long stretch of polishing first."
"Mm…"
Urban Sea wiped her face with the towel again and asked casually, "So who's the new foreign Uma Musume? If she's strong, I've gotta find a way to go watch in person next month!"
Li Si blinked, then pulled the phone back out and unlocked it.
"Let's see… the new entry, nationality is that Far East island country…"
She squinted at the name.
"OguriCap? Ah… Oguri Cap?"
Li Si repeated the name once, feeling like she'd heard it before, but she couldn't place it right away.
Her eyes moved down the form to the [Trainer] field.
"And her trainer's name is…"
Li Si paused for a beat, then read the two characters aloud.
"Kuro…ha?"
Slash—
Urban Sea's hand jerked mid-motion as she towel-dried her hair.
The white towel froze in midair.
She snapped her head up, her amber eyes widening, slowly, as if she couldn't believe what she'd just heard.
"Kuroha…?! Oguri Cap's trainer… for a G1?!"
(End of Chapter)
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